Poll: Majority still backs Sanford

On the eve of South Carolina Republican Gov. Mark Sanford’s Wednesday press conference explaining his mysterious recent disappearance, more than half of South Carolina voters still approve of his job performance, according to a new InsiderAdvantage poll.

The automated poll, conducted Tuesday evening before it was widely reported that Sanford acknowledged that he was in South America — rather than hiking on the Appalachian Trail as his staff previously said — showed a 53 percent approval rating compared to 44 percent who disapproved. But 48 percent disapproved of his actions related to his travels, compared to 45 percent who said they approved.

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When asked about the “statements provided by Governor Sanford’s spokesperson as to his recent travel outside of the state and concerns related over whether his staff or family knew his whereabouts or could contact him,” 25 percent said they believed them. Another 36 percent said they believed the statements “but think there’s more” and 27 percent did not believe the statements. Twelve percent had no opinion.

The poll surveyed 601 South Carolina registered voters and had a 3.8 percent margin of error.